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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2022
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APPEAL TRIBUNE
Sentence handed down for spraying mace at officers
Virginia Barreda
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
A Portland man has been sentenced
to just over a year in prison for spraying
mace at Salem Police officers during a
riot at the Oregon State Capitol in late
2020, making him among the last of
more than 30 people sentenced for
crimes committed during protests and
riots after the death of George Floyd and
the election loss of Donald Trump.
Chandler Pappas, 28, pleaded guilty
Feb. 22 to three counts of first-degree
unlawful use of mace. Pappas was one
of a dozen defendants indicted for
crimes committed during the protest
decrying COVID-19-related closures
while the Oregon Legislature was in ses-
sion on Dec. 21 — and the last of six sen-
tenced for actions that occurred at or
near the west-facing door opened by
former Republican Rep. Mike Nearman,
according to Marion County Deputy
District Attorney Keir Boettcher.
Marion County Circuit Court Judge
Courtland Geyer also ordered Pappas to
serve three years of probation and have
no contact with victims, co-defendants
and the state Capitol, Boettcher stated
in a press release last week.
Pappas is one of the defendants who
were arrested and charged with crimes
committed during multiple protests
that began after the murder of George
Floyd on May 25, 2020. For nearly a
year, the Capitol — and various loca-
tions throughout Salem — were subject-
ed to protests and rallies around various
issues including policing, social justice
issues, vaccine requirements, mask
mandates and the 2020 presidential
election.
The initial protests spurred by
Floyd's murder marked the first time the
city instituted a curfew and used tear
gas on residents. Some protesters also
pointed to a difference in the way police
treated protesters versus militia groups
in downtown Salem. Salem Police De-
partment arrested 14 people involved in
the protests on charges of riot and inter-
fering with a peace officer on May 31 and
June 1, but officials with the Marion
County District Attorney's Office dis-
missed the charges in order to serve the
"interests of justice."
Pappas sprays 6 Salem Police
officers with mace
On Dec. 21, 2020, rioters broke glass
doors on the west side of the Capitol
building, tore tarps from the marble re-
liefs on the front steps, and engaged in a
brief standoff with police officers while
trying to storm the Capitol, which was
closed to the public during the one-day
special session.
An estimated 100 to 200 individuals
were in attendance at the six-hour rally,
which became increasingly violent,
Boettcher wrote.
Two reporters were attacked, and
bear spray was used against police.
Investigators later found that Near-
man, who represented parts of Polk
County, had opened a side door to allow
protesters to enter the building. He was
expelled from the House last June.
Before the protest, Pappas shared a
post on his Twitter account inviting fol-
lowers to a “non-permitted flash mob”
at the Capitol during the live special ses-
sion that was set to begin on Dec. 21,
Boettcher said.
After the side door was opened, Ore-
gon State Police and Salem Police De-
A woman pepper-sprays live-streamer Joe Smothers after he was assaulted during an American Lives Matter, pro-Trump
rally at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. BRIAN HAYES / STATESMAN JOURNAL
partment officials, who were stationed
inside the Capitol, were met with a
crowd of protesters attempting to flood
the building.
The Salem Police Department Mobile
Response Team (MRT) arrived shortly
thereafter to help. Boettcher said Pap-
pas drew a can of mace, or a similar
damaging chemical agent, and sprayed
six Salem Police officers in the body and
face, causing brief incapacitation and
pain.
After Pappas’ attack, two additional
protesters sprayed the same line of MRT
officers with bear mace. Video footage
showed Pappas retreat back into the
crowd after spraying the officers.
"The increased violence that fol-
lowed Pappas’ attack required law en-
forcement to retreat into the Capitol and
secure interior doors to prevent Pappas
and others from further entering the
Capitol and endangering state legisla-
tors," Boettcher wrote.
Pappas later made his way into the
building armed with what looked like an
AK-47-type firearm and began to
"taunt" police by kicking the interior
doors, Boettcher stated. Officials said he
also appeared to be wearing body armor.
Pappas repeatedly rattled the interior
doors until they opened and advanced
on law enforcement without a firearm.
Two other individuals who came
through the doors threw items that ulti-
mately struck one member of the MRT.
Police ultimately forced Pappas out
of the Capitol.
In total, six defendants were arrest-
ed, charged, and sentenced for crimes
including riot, unlawful use of mace, ha-
rassment and assaulting a public safety
officer for their violent acts on Dec, 21,
2020.
"This sentence today closes an em-
barrassing and disgraceful chapter in
our state’s history," Marion County Dis-
trict Attorney Paige Clarkson said in a
statement last week. "I am pleased that
Judge Geyer held this defendant ac-
Chandler Pappas, a member of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, is seen facing
off with Salem Police after breaching the Oregon State Capitol with a group of
anti-lockdown protesters on Dec. 21, 2020.
ABIGAIL DOLLINS/STATESMAN JOURNAL
countable for his violence toward our
law enforcement officers. I am grateful
to the officers from both the Salem Po-
lice Department and the Oregon State
Police who willingly put their own per-
sonal safety on the line to protect our
Capitol and our community.”
Status of individuals arrested
during protests between 2020 and
2021
The following are case statuses for
individuals who were arrested during
protests in 2020 and 2021. The names of
individuals were publically released by
Salem Police Department and the Ore-
gon State Police at the time of the arrest.
The Statesman Journal has kept track of
the individuals' case statuses.
Seven individuals who were arrested
during protests and publically identified
by law enforcement officials have case
statuses that are unclear.
Event: Labor Day protest 2020,
Oregon State Capitol grounds
Magen Marie Stevens, 37, of Salem.
h Status: Pleaded guilty to second-
degree use of mace/tear gas March 9.
Fourth-degree assault charge dropped.
Sentenced to a 1 and 1/2 years bench
probation.
Trenton Wolfskill, 38, of Eugene.
h Status: Pleaded guilty to third-de-
gree robbery April 7. Sentenced to 15
days in county jail and two years super-
vised probation, ordered to perform 100
hours of community service.
Ty Anthony Parker, 54, of Sandy.
h Status: Pleaded no contest to first-
See RIOT, Page 3B
‘Battling river dinosaurs’
Pruning
Continued from Page 1B
pruning later. It’s best to establish a
structure that will keep the tree beau-
tiful and strong – strong enough to
survive a wind or ice storm. Pruning
may take longer with an overgrown
tree because no more than a third of
the branches should be taken out at
once.
But when it comes time – or past
time – to pick up a tool and approach
an overgrown tree, people are intimi-
dated by the idea, Sanchez said. They
don’t want to make mistakes that cost
the tree in the long run. In that case,
it’s time to call an arborist.
“I hope we helped fulfill the role of
giving people the opportunity to see
what pros are thinking about and what
they use as far as tools and technique,”
Bellom said. “We wanted to give advice
to homeowners about proper pruning
practices, how to prune, when and
when not to prune.”
For those who want a more in-depth
look at the principals of pruning take a
look at “Pruning Basics for Trees and
Shrubs“ by Amy Jo Detweiler, OSU Ex-
tension horticulturist in central Ore-
gon.
About the OSU Extension Servi-
ce: The Oregon State University Exten-
sion Service shares research-based
knowledge with people and communi-
ties in Oregon’s 36 counties. OSU Ex-
tension addresses issues that matter to
urban and rural Oregonians. OSU Ex-
tension’s partnerships and programs
contribute to a healthy, prosperous
and sustainable future for Oregon.
Catch-and-release
fishing for sturgeon
at Willamette Falls
Henry Hughes
Special to the Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
“Incredible,” Charles says over the
misty white roar as we idle my 16-foot
skiff below Willamette Falls in Oregon
City. Just south of Portland, 26 miles
above its confluence with the Colum-
bia River, the Willamette thunders
over mossy basalt and crumbling con-
crete.
It’s America’s second-largest wa-
terfall and once the region’s center for
hydropower and industry, but only one
revived paper mill still turns. What re-
mains are ghostly buildings and a
rusty steampunk circus of pipes, steel
beams and acid tanks. Also remaining
are major runs of chinook and coho
salmon, and the breeding grounds for
thousands of lamprey, shad and white
sturgeon. Twenty feet from our boat,
the gray fuselage of a sturgeon — easi-
ly 5 feet long — rockets out of the wa-
ter. “Amazing,” Charles says. “How do
we do this?”
Charles Rangeley-Wilson is visiting
from Norfolk, England. He’s a re-
nowned fly angler and author, and all
week we’ve been drifting streams
chasing trout and a few unwilling
salmon. But today things get heavy.
Downriver a half-mile, we find a 100-
Western Oregon University professor Henry Hughes fishes for sturgeon in the
Willamette River near Willamette Falls.
foot trench and drop a 30-pound rocker
anchor, cleating the line and securing it
to a big red buoy. We also run the trolling
engine in reverse to get a steady, straight
hold. “You don’t want your baits swing-
ing around for sturgeon,” I explain to
Charles.
“Really?” he questions, as another le-
viathan arches its armor-studded back
out of the water. “They seem quite frisky
for bottom feeders.”
A bit too excited for our own good, we
rig up with 80-pound braid, 6-ounce
sinkers and 6/0 barbless hooks. Charles
loves casting dry flies to rising trout on
chalk streams, but today he drives the
big hook through a bloody pound of cut
shad and plumbs the murky wash.
With the baits resting on the bottom
and the rods in their holders, we wait
and talk. It’s a mild, early-October day.
Steller sea lions bark from the docks,
and trucks rumble over the Highway 43
bridge. Charles has fished all over the
world for dozens of species, but he’s
never pursued sturgeon. “They’re quite
See STURGEON, Page 3B